Mass Tort Drug Litigation
Pharmaceutical companies manufacture and market hundreds of new drugs each year. Each product is regulated and approved by the food and Drug Administration before it reaches the consumer, and every year over 200,000 people die from using these drugs. It is estimated that more than 50% of all the drugs marketed to the American consumer have deleterious effects, in spite of testing and FDA regulation.
Of all the recent examples of harmful drugs, most were withdrawn from sale within 12 months of release. Some drugs were still marketed by drug companies even after evidence of serious side effects or death had been noted. By law, drug manufacturers are strictly liable for injuries if the product they sell is defective or unreasonably dangerous. This can happen in several ways.
The product may be defective because of an error in the manufacturing process.
Consumers are not warned of possible bad effects from the use of the product.
The product has a design flaw that makes it dangerous.
In all these cases, the manufacturer is liable and can be sued for damages even if they were unaware of the danger. It does not matter how carefully the product was produced or labeled.
Many drug products have caused such widespread injury that class action suits or mass torts have been filed against them. Some of these drugs include: Baycol, Phen-fen, Rezulin, Propulsid, and PPA.
Of additional concern are the dietary supplements which are becoming increasingly popular. The FDA requires that manufacturers assure that such supplements are safe before selling them, but there are no testing or approval requirements.
If you or a loved one is in need of legal assistance, call The Law Offices of Christian & Davis at 864.640.4272. The initial consultation is free of charge, and if we agree to handle your case, we will work on a contingency fee basis, which means we get paid for our services only if there is a monetary recovery of funds. In many cases, a lawsuit must be filed before an applicable expiration date, known as a statute of limitations. Please call right away to ensure that you do not waive your right to possible compensation.
Hazardous Products / Product Liability
Product liability deals with cases involving defective or unsafe products. Manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers of products can be held liable for damages arising from the use of defective products. Products covered by this area of law, include food, drugs, and real estate, as well as virtually all consumer products. The user who is injured and seeks damages does not need to be the original purchaser of the product. Nor does a person seeking damages have to prove negligence in many cases. Product liability frequently is a question of strict liability: that is, if the product is defective and that defect caused injury, the injured user may sue for damages as long as the product was used as it was meant to be used and not substantially changed from its original condition.
If the injured user was using the product in a manner not intended by the manufacturer or retailer, or had altered the product so that safety features were disabled, it may not be possible to prove that injuries were caused by defects in the product. The defendant may be able to successfully claim that the injuries were caused by the acts of the plaintiff.
Questions of negligence and breach of warranty are also grounds for a claim for damages under product liability. In the case of negligence, if it can be shown that a company was negligent in testing its product adequately or in supplying directions for its use, the injured party probably has grounds for filing suit. Similarly, a manufacturer implies a warranty for fitness of use and freedom from defect when an item is sold. If the item proves to be defective, or is unfit for the purpose intended, an injured user can file a product liability case. In a case of negligence, it is important that the plaintiff be able to show that the product was defective when it left the control of the party he is suing. It is not possible to hold someone liable for a defect that occurred after that party had control over the product.
In product liability, there are various areas of defects that can occur. If a claim of strict liability is to be pursued, the injured party will need to show that the product was unreasonably dangerous for its intended use, due to a defect. There are generally three areas in which a product can be unreasonably dangerous:
The manufacturer or seller can fail to warn about angers associated with the products use. Manufacturers and sellers are expected to give adequate warnings about possible dangers, and to provide clear and adequate instructions of use. Failure to do so can cause a useful product to become deadly. For instance, coolants used in automobiles are extremely toxic – failure to print warnings of this toxicity on the product labels could lead to an accidental poisoning and thus to a suit for damages.
The product may have a design defect. This means that the product is manufactured with a defect, even if it is assembled perfectly. An example would be a car gasoline tank that is designed with weak walls such that an impact can rupture the tank and cause the car to catch on fire, even when the tank is correctly assembled and installed.
A manufacturing defect exists when an otherwise safe product is rendered dangerous because it is assembled improperly. A car whose wheel is installed with missing or cross-threaded bolts may lose a wheel at high speed, injuring or killing the driver and passengers. If it is proved that the car was manufactured with that defect, the manufacturer will be liable.
In all cases of product liability, it is essential to the success of the case that the product be preserved and that all paperwork showing the origin of the product be made available. Receipts showing purchase, any repair records, etc., can be vital to building a successful case.
If you or a loved one is in need of legal assistance, call The Law Offices of Christian & Davis at 864.640.4272. The initial consultation is free of charge, and if we agree to handle your case, we will work on a contingency fee basis, which means we get paid for our services only if there is a monetary recovery of funds. In many cases, a lawsuit must be filed before an applicable expiration date, known as a statute of limitations. Please call right away to ensure that you do not waive your right to possible compensation.
